Lionsgate Entertainment and Starz have been sued over their series “P-Valley,” in a lawsuit accusing them of copyright infringement.
Singer Nicole Gilbert-Daniels filed the lawsuit. She alleges there are too many similarities between the show and her 2011 musical stage play, “Soul Kittens Cabaret.”
Four years later, Katori Hall released a play titled “P—sy Valley.” The series is based on Hall’s book.
The Starz show premiered July 12, 2020, and begins with an unnamed woman (Elarica Johnson) fleeing her hometown destroyed by a flood. After ending up in Chucalissa, she wins the one-night Booty Bucket competition at The Pynk the asks for a permanent job.
The lawsuit alleges the series is a “veritable unauthorized 2020 knock-off of Plaintiff’s ‘Soul Kittens Cabaret,'” and that the defendants “knowingly and illegally used Plaintiff’s works to create the ‘P-Valley’ television series,” per The Wrap.
“During the Lionsgate SKC Pitch, Feltheimer expressed enthusiasm and interest in scripting ‘SKC’ as a musical drama series for Lionsgate and even stated that he loved the character named ‘Tata Burlesque,'” the lawsuit states. “Feltheimer further explained that he enjoyed reading scrips and would read the script over the weekend, share it with the Lionsgate team, and follow up with Bobbit,” it continues.
Gibert-Daniels, the lead singer of R&B group Brownstone and former star of reality television show, “R&B Divas,” says she never heard from Feltheimer or Lionsgate again.
Gilbert-Daniels is seeking actual and statutory damages, as well as a jury trial in the civil suit.
